Hearing loss in young adults

Many of us associate hearing loss with older adults, and indeed, your risk of hearing loss increases as you get older. However, younger adults can also develop hearing loss, for a variety of reasons. Young adults with hearing loss face unique challenges as they navigate college, dating, employment, relationships and parenting.

How common is it?

Statistics from the CDC show that about 12% of adults ages 18-39 report difficulty following a conversation amid background noise, and about 6% experience ringing in the ears, known as tinnitus. These percentages increase in older age groups. 

This isn't without an impact on well-being. As the CDC explains, people with hearing loss "are more likely to have low employment rates, lower worker productivity, and high healthcare costs."

What causes hearing loss in young adults?

One of the most common causes is the same as it is for older adults: Noise exposure, which causes noise-induced hearing loss. In the U.S. millions of Gen-Xers, millennials and Gen Y have been exposed to unsafe levels of sound due to a whole host of reasons, including hobbies like hunting and music, exposure to noise pollution, and workplace noise, too. 

Other risk factors include diabetes, high blood pressure, exposure to ototoxic medications (drugs linked to tinnitus or hearing loss), viral or bacterial infections, and genetics.

Otosclerosis in young adults

Another one of the most common medical causes of hearing loss in younger to middle aged adults is otosclerosis, an abnormal bone growth in the middle ear. Up to 3 million people in the U.S. are affected by it, with the highest risk group being middle-aged women.

How hearing loss impacts younger adults

Not only are the primary causes of hearing loss different for younger adults, but life with hearing aids in your 20s, 30s and 40s can look remarkably different than having hearing aids in your older years. That's because when it comes work, family, relationships and activities, people of those ages are in a different stage of life than that of most older people, and so having hearing aids impacts them differently.

More: What it's like to wear hearing aids in your 30s

Career concerns

Take working with hearing loss, for example. While older adults are frequently looking toward retirement, those in their 20s are often just out of college and searching for their first job. They have to decide when to disclose to a potential employer that they have hearing aids. Even those who have been in the workforce for a while might potentially need special equipment such as a telephone with amplification, a caption telephone or other assistive equipment. Those with hearing aids should find out if their potential employer is willing to accommodate their hearing needs. The use of hearing aids also can influence career choice, as certain professions might not lend themselves well to difficulty hearing high-frequency sounds (a common type of hearing loss).

Remote work and hearing loss

Working from home presents both advantages and disadvantages when you have hearing loss. You can turn up the sound on your computer or speaker phone as loudly as you need, for example, without irritating a coworker. However, virtual meetings are an imperfect technology, and without the right adjustments, can be an impediment to communication. That's why we've put together Working remotely with hearing loss: Tips for virtual meetings.

Parenting

The challenge of parenting with hearing aids, especially infants or young children, is another difference from the older user. While hearing aids are certainly necessary for safety and communication, their use also adds nuances and special considerations. A parent who uses hearing aids, for example, will want to use a baby monitor that flashes lights or vibrates in response to the baby crying, and maybe a video monitor as well. And for parents, making sure their hearing aids are in top condition at all times is of special concern.

College

Another difference between the generations when it comes to the use of hearing aids is that many younger adults are concerned about college or even continuing education, so use of hearing aids, cochlear implants or bone-anchored hearing systems becomes crucial to their classroom experience. Unfortunately people of this age may not get the support they need in a classroom setting. Young adults especially need to learn to be their own advocate, be proactive and speak up about what they need in order to be successful.

Hearing aids can boost your income—and health

Hearing aids can also have a significant effect on household income, a common concern of those in their prime working years. The results of a Better Hearing Institute survey (no longer online) of 40,000 U.S. households showed that the use of hearing aids and FM systems had a positive effect on earning potential and income; they were shown to reduce the risk of income loss by 90 to 100 percent for those with mild hearing loss, and by 65 to 77 percent for those with moderate to severe hearing loss.

Hearing aids even have a more pronounced benefit on the mental health of the younger generation. A 2014 study showed that while hearing loss is associated with the risk of depression in adults of all ages, is most prevalent in younger adults. So while hearing aids benefit all users regardless of age, it seems that younger users have the most to gain when it comes to preventing depression; use of hearing aids can lead to fewer depressive symptoms, greater social engagement, and overall better quality of life. In other words, hearing aids are good for your health.

Less of a stigma

When it comes to hearing aids, there are significant differences between the older generation and the younger generation in both use and perception. Though most of the marketing of hearing aids is aimed toward senior citizens, the younger generation seems to be more accepting of the use of hearing assistive devices. This could be due to the fact that everywhere you go someone has some sort of a device attached to their ears, whether it is Bluetooth, headphones or earbuds; as a result these days hearing aids don't draw as much attention. More and more, the stigma of having hearing aids is dissipating, and those of the younger generation often find that their hearing loss, untreated, is more noticeable than the device used to correct it.

The good news is that those in younger adulthood and middle age have one distinct advantage when it comes to hearing loss. Getting it diagnosed and treated earlier might give them an opportunity to protect what they have left of their hearing and avoid anything that can cause further loss. It's incredibly important to protect your residual hearing.

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